Tornado Warnings and Sirens (Atlanta, Loganville: how much, buying a home, movies)

[FromCLTtoATL]

I actually could hear the tornado sirens for the previous ones six weeks ago or so from inside my Scottdale home. It's a bit chilling.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

According to FEMA, we're actually in a high-risk area: FEMA: Are You Ready?.

That's a somewhat updated map, too. It now lists North Georgia in the extreme ranks, and until recently, it was not. In the past, most of the weather sites used THIS MAP which was basically a frequency map, to also illustrate the most prone areas. We were slightly in a moderate zone then - now we're not.

Some sites suggest it's global warming. Others say the newer maps have been updated simply because more people are moving to the burbs and rural areas who can spot tornadoes, so it "seems" like there are more in places where there weren't many reports in the past. All I know is this - in the last 4-5 years, we've had FAR more tornado warnings in Springtime than in the 20 years before that in this area. It used to be somewhat rare to get them - in the last few Springs it seems like every line of thunderstorms that come through bring tornado risks with them. Very odd.

Get your weather radios. Keep a couple of days of clothes, batteries, first aid, etc., in a bag in the basement or interior closet. Keep your data backed up from your computer on an external hard drive and keep that in your emergency bag as well, so in case your home is severely damaged (along with your computer) you will have your important and hopefully scanned documents safe, etc.

[blackroze1000]

Hi, everyone. My family and I are going to be moving from the Chicago area to Loganville this year. When I look on the Internet for homes, hardly any of them list having basements, which makes me a little nervous due to the tornadoes in the area. We're not new to tornado warnings living in Chicago, of course, but we do have a basement we can go down to, which makes me feel a little bit safer. Do most homes in the Georgia area NOT come with basements, or does it just happen to be the ones I'm looking at in Loganville?

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by blackroze1000

Hi, everyone. My family and I are going to be moving from the Chicago area to Loganville this year. When I look on the Internet for homes, hardly any of them list having basements, which makes me a little nervous due to the tornadoes in the area. We're not new to tornado warnings living in Chicago, of course, but we do have a basement we can go down to, which makes me feel a little bit safer. Do most homes in the Georgia area NOT come with basements, or does it just happen to be the ones I'm looking at in Loganville?

Not every home here has a basement. Some are "daylight" basements that are partially exposed, others are fully underground. Finding a home with a basement here isn't rare, but again, not every home here has one. For a variety of reasons, basements come in very handy. Don't settle - I'm sure there's a home out there with one you'll want.

[globalnomad]

We moved to Atlanta not too long ago from overseas. The first time the siren went off in our neighborhood, we thought it was a home burglar alarm.

It went on and on and on for 45 minutes.

We thought, "Why doesn't someone turn that annoying alarm off?"

We had no idea until the next day that it was a tornado warning siren!

We should have been bunkered down in the basement instead of watching a movie upstairs.

As we don't have TV, buying a weather radio sounds like a good idea.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by globalnomad

We should have been bunkered down in the basement instead of watching a movie upstairs.

As we don't have TV, buying a weather radio sounds like a good idea.

Ok, sorry, I gotta ask.... how were you watching a movie without a TV?

(and yes, buy the radio).

[RainyRainyDay]

Probably like us ... also foreigners who didn't know what the Cobb siren was, the first time we heard it. We own a TV set but only ever used it to watch recorded movies. Our daughter's literacy skills benefited from a complete absence of TV in her younger years.

In the last year or so, we've added a computer (a reused older PC) to our entertainment zone, and after a quarter century without TV, we've actually taken up a bit of viewing of TV shows available online. We like "House" and "30 Rock", for example.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

Probably like us ... also foreigners who didn't know what the Cobb siren was, the first time we heard it. We own a TV set but only ever used it to watch recorded movies. Our daughter's literacy skills benefited from a complete absence of TV in her younger years.

In the last year or so, we've added a computer (a reused older PC) to our entertainment zone, and after a quarter century without TV, we've actually taken up a bit of viewing of TV shows available online. We like "House" and "30 Rock", for example.

I will agree that many experts say not to let a child NEAR a TV at least for the first couple of years. Also agreed that "most" people can do with recycled and refurbished (and much cheaper) PCs than new ones, too. Different topics I guess.

But, a suggestion, a portable battery powered hand-held TV is a very handy thing to have around for when there are weather emergencies, so you can watch the weather guys and gals do their thing, read up on alerts and see the radar when it's too dangerous (lighting, no power, etc) to use the PC to do it. Just make note that the old Casio and other branded hand TVs will stop working in June due to the digital conversion, so if you have old ones (like me), you'll have to buy a new one that has digital reception capability. I use my Casio all the time when the weather is bad and I'm in bed or the power goes out. Radios are great for when the alerts are issues, but it's nice to be able to watch the "live" weather reports, too.

[billl]

Originally Posted by globalnomad

We had no idea until the next day that it was a tornado warning siren!

Now that you know what it is, wait until you hear one going off at noon. That will really get you worried!

[graywolf73]

Originally Posted by blackroze1000

Hi, everyone. My family and I are going to be moving from the Chicago area to Loganville this year. When I look on the Internet for homes, hardly any of them list having basements, which makes me a little nervous due to the tornadoes in the area. We're not new to tornado warnings living in Chicago, of course, but we do have a basement we can go down to, which makes me feel a little bit safer. Do most homes in the Georgia area NOT come with basements, or does it just happen to be the ones I'm looking at in Loganville?

We looked at homes in Loganville and all of them had basements. I don't know if maybe the SD you looked at is more flat, topography wise. Also, it sometimes depends on the home price, cheaper houses=no basement. (that's not true 100% of the time, just a general rule) Basements definitely come in handy so I wouldn't settle on a house without one if you really want one. And also realize that some say basement but it is actually just a crawl-space. Make sure it's a "full basement"